New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday instructed all banks to stay vigilant and prepared to handle any eventuality or crisis in the backdrop of the escalating India-Pakistan tension.
Speaking at a key meeting with top honchos of the Public and Private Sector Banks and insurance companies, Sitharaman emphasised the critical role of the banking and financial sector in ensuring economic stability during challenging situations and geopolitical impasse.
Directing all banks to stay vigilant and prepared to handle any eventuality or crisis, she said “This ensures that citizens nationwide, particularly in border areas, have uninterrupted access to banking and financial services”.
Sitharaman emphasised that physical and digital banking services must operate smoothly and without interruptions and highlighted the importance of updating and testing emergency protocols to address potential contingencies effectively.
The Union Finance Minister expressed serious concerns regarding the safety of bank employees and their families at branches near border areas, directing banks to ensure their safety by effectively coordinating with security agencies.
She urged banks to ensure that citizens and businesses do not face any hardships, and emphasised the importance of providing seamless cash availability at ATMs, maintaining uninterrupted UPI and internet banking services, and ensuring continued access to essential banking facilities.
She instructed banks to audit their cyber security systems and data centres regularly and stressed the importance of ensuring all digital and core banking infrastructure is completely firewalled and monitored 24/7 to prevent breaches and hostile cyber activities.
Sitharaman directed banks to appoint two dedicated senior officials at their headquarters. One official will be responsible for reporting all cyber-related matters. At the same time, the other will oversee operational issues, including bank branches’ functioning and cash availability in ATMs. In real time, both officials must report incidents to CERT-In, relevant agencies, and the Department of Financial Services (DFS).
Banks were requested to coordinate with the Reserve Bank of India, CERT-In, and relevant government agencies in real time to ensure a robust and agile exchange of information and response.
Sitharaman also instructed insurance companies to prioritise timely claim settlements and provide uninterrupted customer service.
She said sponsor banks should support Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) during this period and assist them with any issues they may encounter.
Top brass from the Department of Financial Services (DFS), the Ministry of Finance, CERT-In, the RBI, the IRDAI, and the NPCI attended this crucial meeting.
Issues like cyber preparedness and other operational details were reviewed during the meeting, including digital applications like internet banking and UPI.
All the CEOs, the top management of the insurance companies, and senior officials from the banking sector described the measures they had undertaken to safeguard the country’s citizens during this crisis in the LOC.
The MDs and CEOs put forth the details of the cyber security measures they have implemented, such as Anti-DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) systems, to save the country’s monetary assets from any impending cross-border cyber-attacks. They also told the Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister that several internal alerts have been issued to enhance the staff’s awareness of phishing attacks.
Also, a slew of mock drills have been held encompassing cyber security and disaster recovery scenarios at the highest levels.
The officials present at the meeting also mentioned that the Security Operations Centre (SOC) and Network Operations Centres are fully operational and on high alert to stall any threats.
